fuji S1

petebuster · Sep 8, 2014

Hi everyone Peter from the UK here, new to this forum.

My main interest is wildlife photography, up to recently ive used a canon 60d and sigma 100-400 f4 i wanted to upgrade but really can't afford it at the moment so decided to go back to a bridge camera. I was a bit susceptible to the s1 having read a few negatives about the IQ but i liked the look of it and the weather sealing so as i found one at a good price i took the plunge.

I wasn't happy with the lack of hood and charging the battery in camera but so far haven't been unhappy with the IQ so would welcome other peoples thoughts, i was going to get the panny z200 but 50x is better for wildlife, have added a couple of images no pp

Kim Letkeman · Sep 8, 2014

Pretty decent shots ... you've avoided blur, which takes some skills for sure. I've been testing the S1 against the HS50EXR for a couple of weeks and have definitely taken a shine to the S1's image quality, which is excellent for the sensor size. The lens has an issue with CA, but so far I've found it manageable.

The real star of this show is the close focus at full zoom and the clean details it delivers ...

DSCF9497_FinePix%20S1_215%20mm_ISO%20100_1-420%20sec%20at%20f%20-%207_1.jpg

DSCF9580_FinePix%20S1_215%20mm_ISO%20100_1-140%20sec%20at%20f%20-%205_6.jpg

I think the S1 is going to turn some heads ... enjoy yours.

If you feel like reading my review, there are currently 16 parts and growing ... here's part 1 ...

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kimletkeman.blogspot.ca

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Nothing Special

This blog is my personal space. Do not confuse this with statements or opinions on behalf of any employer I have ever had, have now, or will ever have in the future.

kimletkeman.blogspot.com

petebuster · Sep 9, 2014

Kim Letkeman said:
Pretty decent shots ... you've avoided blur, which takes some skills for sure. I've been testing the S1 against the HS50EXR for a couple of weeks and have definitely taken a shine to the S1's image quality, which is excellent for the sensor size. The lens has an issue with CA, but so far I've found it manageable.

The real star of this show is the close focus at full zoom and the clean details it delivers ...

I think the S1 is going to turn some heads ... enjoy yours.

If you feel like reading my review, there are currently 16 parts and growing ... here's part 1 ...

http://kimletkeman.blogspot.ca/2014/08/fujifilm-s1-versus-hs50exr-review-part.html

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http://kimletkeman.blogspot.com

Very nice shots, i'd read so many reviews saying its downfall was its IQ it just goes to show you have to try things for yourself. i've been quite impressed so far considering the tiny sensor. I've had the hx400v,hs50,sx50 and cant say they did anything the s1 cant

photoreddi · Sep 9, 2014

petebuster said:
Kim Letkeman said:

Pretty decent shots ... you've avoided blur, which takes some skills for sure. I've been testing the S1 against the HS50EXR for a couple of weeks and have definitely taken a shine to the S1's image quality, which is excellent for the sensor size. The lens has an issue with CA, but so far I've found it manageable.

The real star of this show is the close focus at full zoom and the clean details it delivers ...

I think the S1 is going to turn some heads ... enjoy yours.

If you feel like reading my review, there are currently 16 parts and growing ... here's part 1 ...

http://kimletkeman.blogspot.ca/2014/08/fujifilm-s1-versus-hs50exr-review-part.html

Click to expand...

Very nice shots, i'd read so many reviews saying its downfall was its IQ it just goes to show you have to try things for yourself. i've been quite impressed so far considering the tiny sensor. I've had the hx400v,hs50,sx50 and cant say they did anything the s1 cant

If you're familiar with these other cameras, how would you rate the speed of its motorized zoom? From my experience, Canon's SX50HS zooms incredibly fast compared with the sluggish speed of Nikon's P510/P520. These cameras also have a useful feature where you can zoom way out in order to re-locate a subject that "disappeared" from view in the LCD or EVF at very long focal lengths. Then when you find it again, you just press a button and the lens zooms back in to the same focal length that you were originally using and the subject is back in the frame.

CAcreeks · Sep 9, 2014

Based on Kim Letkeman's ongoing review, the Finepix S1 is better than the HS50, although with fewer controls for the photographer.

My question is, how does the Finepix S1 compare to the X-S1? The X-S1 looks excellent in almost every image posted here.

(I call it the Finepix S1 to avoid confusion with the old DSLR S1 Pro, but that was also branded Finepix!)

petebuster · Sep 9, 2014

I've had the xs1 and would say it had the best IQ of all the bridges I've had, I would have bought another one but for wildlife needed the extra reach

Bassy · Sep 9, 2014

pete i have also had the x-s1 and like you said not enough reach,why did you get rid of the canon sx50 ,i have the sx50 at the moment but i hate the evf, and i am hoping that a sx60 will be announced next week with a much better evf i dont do video on any of my cameras so that does not bother me,i would say that your pigeon shot is quite good,regards bassy

petebuster · Sep 9, 2014

Bassy said:
pete i have also had the x-s1 and like you said not enough reach,why did you get rid of the canon sx50 ,i have the sx50 at the moment but i hate the evf, and i am hoping that a sx60 will be announced next week with a much better evf i dont do video on any of my cameras so that does not bother me,i would say that your pigeon shot is quite good,regards bassy

I wanted the money towards a dslr at the time, like I'm really hoping for the sx60 providing there's enough improvements

Lisetta1 · Sep 9, 2014

CAcreeks said:
Based on Kim Letkeman's ongoing review, the Finepix S1 is better than the HS50, although with fewer controls for the photographer.

That seems to be true only in RAW with pp, though, not with JPEGs.

petebuster · Sep 9, 2014

Not convinced of shooting raw and pp with sensors this small tbh more trouble than it's worth

petebuster · Sep 9, 2014

I don't think there's much if anything between the 50x zooms still waiting for that breakthrough maybe the sx60 will be it ?

petebuster · Sep 10, 2014

took it for another test run got a couple of decent pics and tried the digital zoom, forget that not useable. I think overall though you can get some good shots though its very limiting and you'll be deleting more than keeping

petebuster · Sep 10, 2014

another couple again had to take several to get 1 or 2 good ones, its hard to keep the shutter speed high unless its very bright, these were taken when it was cloudy but had really slow the shutter speed. Thats the trouble with wildlife photography its so much of a compromise than any other, do you go for the superzoom compact great reach but poorer IQ,vf,af etc, mirrorless with less zoom and lens choice or slr big bulky and expensive but best IQ, VF and AF? you cant win really unless your a pro or rich.:-(

TSeiler · Sep 11, 2014

I bought an S1 since I live close to Disney World and have an annual pass. Today I went on the Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom and both me and the camera got thoroughly soaked. Camera still works fine.

petebuster · Sep 12, 2014

Thats one feature that's really useful and not available on anything else in this range

TSeiler · Sep 12, 2014

petebuster said:
Thats one feature that's really useful and not available on anything else in this range

Which is the main reason I bought the camera and it didn't disappoint.

TSeiler · Sep 13, 2014

Yesterday I took my S1 to Disney World and I rode Splash Mountain in the first car. I held the camera up on the final 50 foot splash and wanted to record a burst, but I screwed up and only got the first shot. So I will practice burst mode and ride it again next week. Basically if the S1 can handle Splash Mountain, it can handle anything short of putting it at the bottom of a pool.

Sactojim · Sep 13, 2014

petebuster said:
Thats one feature that's really useful and not available on anything else in this range

Here's a user who had a not so good experience when they got it wet. From a Amazon review:

"This camera was purchased in part based on it being water resistant. We took it on a rafting trip and it failed. Yes, it did get wet but it was never submerged in water and it was in a very dry environment otherwise. We thought we had salvaged it when we got home. It worked fine for another time or two and then completely died. As I write, it is on it's way for repairs. The image quality is good for what the camera is, but I really think for the price and the manner in which it is advertised that it should have held up better".

Kim Letkeman · Sep 13, 2014

TSeiler said:
Yesterday I took my S1 to Disney World and I rode Splash Mountain in the first car. I held the camera up on the final 50 foot splash and wanted to record a burst, but I screwed up and only got the first shot. So I will practice burst mode and ride it again next week. Basically if the S1 can handle Splash Mountain, it can handle anything short of putting it at the bottom of a pool.

Well, I have a pool ... it's in rough shape this year but still holds water. I suppose Fuji might not be pleased if it failed that test though

Kim Letkeman · Sep 13, 2014

petebuster said:
another couple again had to take several to get 1 or 2 good ones, its hard to keep the shutter speed high unless its very bright, these were taken when it was cloudy but had really slow the shutter speed. Thats the trouble with wildlife photography its so much of a compromise than any other, do you go for the superzoom compact great reach but poorer IQ,vf,af etc, mirrorless with less zoom and lens choice or slr big bulky and expensive but best IQ, VF and AF? you cant win really unless your a pro or rich.:-(

Compromise is actually the defining concept with choice of camera. And not just for wildlife but for anything.

People try using mirrorless for sports photography because they are much lighter and cheaper than the Nikon D4. But only the very latest can keep up with action now ... basically the GH4, and that body is close to 2 grand after taxes.

TANSTAAFL ...

By the way, the S1 is a fun camera that works well in bright to moderate light. But there is no question that you should be shooting as many images as you can to ensure some truly sharp ones ...

With the Blue Jay in the shade of a tree, I had the camera on a monopod and still shot several dozen frames. I ended up with lots of keepers, but you still need lots of images to get that perfect pose ... the issue with tiny sensors and slow but very long lenses is that you need to have dSLR-grade shot technique to maximize the chances of really sharp images ... and I still get tons of images that get culled.

petebuster said:

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Nothing Special

This blog is my personal space. Do not confuse this with statements or opinions on behalf of any employer I have ever had, have now, or will ever have in the future.

kimletkeman.blogspot.com

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